Indiana eyes new legacy against Ohio St.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — After 125 years of college football, Indiana is trying to start a new legacy against No. 9 Ohio State.

The Hoosiers want to write a new chapter in this decidedly lopsided series and they’re hoping Memorial Stadium will be filled tonight with more red-clad Hoosiers fans than red-clad Buckeyes fans.

Yes, it’s a chance to change all those pesky perceptions about Indiana football.

“This is a program that is getting better,” Indiana coach Bill Lynch said. “We are going to urge the students to sell out their section and the others because this really is a showcase game for us.”

Oh, the Hoosiers (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) understand how difficult the challenge will be.

Ohio State (3-1, 1-0) has won 14 straight over Indiana, and the Hoosiers haven’t been closer than 10 points since 1993. Most don’t believe much will change tonight against a Buckeyes team that now looks like the favorite to win another conference crown.

The Buckeyes were installed as a 171‚Ñ2-point favorite early this week, even after the Hoosiers nearly won their first game at Michigan since 1967. And Lynch has pleaded with fans all week to give Indiana at least a semblance of a home-field advantage.

Penn State-Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — It didn’t take long for the calls to start rolling in to local radio shows.

Illinois football fans, normally a polite bunch, were clearly irked by the 30-0 loss to Ohio State. Said one: “Those of us who watch the games realize why Florida got rid of Ron Zook.”

Three games, two losses and one, big ongoing headache into a season that was supposed to be better than this and the Illini coach says that sort of reaction is expected.

“They are passionate about their football team. It’s kind of the society we live in now — everybody wants to be undefeated,” he said. “You just have to accept that as part of the business.”

Zook is in his fifth season at Illinois after he was forced out at Florida. He insists that, in spite of the 1-2 start (0-1 in the Big Ten) and nine total points in the losses, neither he nor his team is panicking with No. 15 Penn State coming to town on what is expected to be a cool, rainy day.

“You can’t panic. If you panic, you’re done,” he said.

Joe Paterno, in his 44th season at Penn State, knows about job security. But if the questions he faced after Penn State’s 21-10 upset loss to Iowa are to believed, Paterno is feeling a little fan pressure of his own.

“The season’s a huge disappointment now because it’s 23 years now since you’ve been able to win a national title? I would tell them that I can’t do anything about that,” he said at a news conference. “I think people that have those kinds of expectations every year, obviously, have to be ready for some disappointments.”

Notre Dame-Washington

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Firing Tyrone Willingham isn’t the only thing Washington and Notre Dame have in common.

The Huskies (2-2) and Fighting Irish (3-1), who play today, are both struggling defensively and are coming off games where they had trouble tackling. Both depend heavily on junior quarterbacks to spark their offenses.

Both also are desperate to return to prominence and put memories of their recent struggles, including those Willingham years, behind them.

The coaches were asked this week about the talent Willingham left them when he was fired. Charlie Weis, who led the Irish to back-to-back Bowl Championship Series in his first two years after replacing Willingham, declined to answer, saying he would not “say anything derogatory about any coach that had been at Notre Dame.”

Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said Willingham had left some skilled offensive players, such as quarterback Jake Locker, tailback Chris Polk and several receivers.

Irish fans are hoping to get to see more of Notre Dame’s linebacker future. Both Weis and defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta said they expect to play highly touted freshman Manti Te’o a lot more starting this week. He has played a bit so far, making six tackles, including two for loss. One was a sack of Purdue quarterback Joey Elliott on the final drive last week.